STONES

Stones have stories,

Never told,

Stories on top of stories

Make a wall;

held together by mortar/

by skill,

by gravity---

or by fear.

Stones flying through air

Know, but will never tell,

From whose hand they were launched

Into the world--

Across a stream,

Over a cliff,

through a window,

Or skipped over water:

One, two, three, four splashes

marking progress across a pond.

stones mark miles come, 

or left to go,

Paths to follow,

Signals of safety

Or of danger,

For those who follow trailblazers.

Turn here.

Stop here.

Stones in lines mark boundaries

Some might agree upon.  

Stones

in circles show where we 

Shall gather.

Stay in.

Stay out.

We leave messages

Without verbs or nouns,

Without a sound.

many colors,

many different values--

words of love,

heft of hate

The final stones mark

Where journey's end--

The terminus from which

There is no return trip.

Copyright (c) 2012 by the author

Here lies: